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PIJ releases video of hostage Sasha Trufanov

omrif — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 09:30:57 +0000

The Islamic Jihad terrorist organization released a video today (Wednesday) of Sasha Trufanov, who was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7.

Israel Hayom will not publish Trufanov's video, and will not cooperate with the psychological terror tactics of terrorist organizations.

In the video, Trufanov speaks of his longing for his friends and family, and he asks the public to remember him and the other hostages. He also states that his life is in danger.

Lena Trufanov, Sasha's mother, responded: "I am relieved to see my son alive, but deeply troubled by what he describes. I urge everyone to make every effort to free him and all the other hostages immediately. They don't have time."

This is the third video released by the terrorist organization featuring Trufanov, who has been in captivity for 404 days and celebrated his 29th birthday in captivity yesterday.

Sasha Trufanov with his partner Sapir Cohen, Photo: Courtesy of the family

Trufanov was abducted from his parents' home in Nir Oz along with his mother Lena, his grandmother Irina, and his girlfriend Sapir and taken to Gaza. Lena, Irina, and Sapir were freed after 54 days in captivity—but Sasha remains in Gaza.

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Meet the terrorist group worse than Hamas

miriw — Sat, 11 May 2024 17:22:07 +0000

Hamas gets all the press. But there's another smaller, more radical terror group that somehow manages to make it seem almost moderate. This group blazed the trail on suicide attacks, it brainwashed a generation of Palestinians in schools and summer camps, and it has a surprising origin story involving a nerdy doctor. Meet the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).

Our story begins with the man who started it all – Dr. Fathi Ibrahim Abdulaziz Shaqaqi. Dr. Shaqaqi was born in a Gaza refugee camp, but his intellect allowed him to study medicine in Egypt. It was there that he was drawn to dangerous Islamist ideologies that would alter the course of his life. He mingled with an Islamist group whose ideology was so threatening to the Egyptian government that the organization was banned. He was also inspired by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the radical who overthrew the Iranian Shah and turned Iran from a relatively liberal secular state into an intolerant religious one.

Fueled by his dreams, he ultimately moved to east Jerusalem, where he worked as a physician by day, and a revolutionary by night. In the 80s, the Palestine Liberation Organization began to flirt with the idea of diplomatic negotiations with Israel. But Shaqaqi thought this was a huge mistake and believed the only way to deal with Israel was armed resistance. He didn't want to entrust the future of his homeland to a secular body that didn't share his vision for an Islamist future.

Fathi Shaqaqi, founder of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad organization, attends a conference held in Tehran in support of the Palestinian people, in February, 1992 (Photo: Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images) Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images

According to Shaqaqi, there were two categories of Palestinians. The nationalists talked about liberating Palestine, but they had forgotten about Islam. And the traditionalists talked about Islam and an Islamic state, but they had forgotten about Palestine. He had to solve this issue to make the crossing point between nationalists and Islamists, so he started recruiting other like-minded Palestinians. That's when Palestinian Islamic Jihad was born.

It wasn't long before Shaqaqi caught the attention of Israeli authorities. After being interrogated by Israel, He boasted that authorities had deemed him extremely dangerous due to his fusion of religious and nationalist ideologies. PIJ's first attacks came in the mid-80s. in 1988, Shaqaqi was arrested, thrown in an Israeli prison, then deported to Lebanon. He may have been banished, but he wasn't defeated. Against the odds, he managed to thrive and reorganize the PIJ from abroad. That may have been due, in part, to his charisma and quirky personality. He was a jolly guy who would chuckle while talking about terror attacks he orchestrated. He proudly explained to an interviewer that before he became a politician and the leader of Islamic Jihad, he was a human being and a poet. He attested to reading Shakespeare, Dante, and T.S. Eliot.

His unique mix of intellectual charm and violent zealotry worked to convince people to join his cause in Lebanon. He found a way to form close connections with the country's most powerful terrorist group. He eventually managed to land his dream opportunity, a chance to travel to Iran to meet his ideological role model, the Ayatollah himself. Shaqaqi talked his way into a steady stream of financial and military aid from Iran, allowing PIJ to step up its attacks.

In 1987 they orchestrated their first attack that killed Lt. Ron Tal, the commander of the Israeli military police in Gaza. Next, in 1989, one of the members grabbed the steering wheel of an Israeli bus and ran it off a cliff. The terrorist survived, but this still goes down in the record books as the first Palestinian suicide attack. Less than a year later, they ambushed an Egyptian tour bus with Israelis on board. Then, they started bombing civilian infrastructure: a Tel Aviv mall, a bus, and a restaurant in Haifa.

Fourteen passengers were killed on July 6, 1989 when an Israeli bus en route from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem plunged down a hillside after the driver was overpowered by a PIJ terrorist (Photo: AFP) AFP

With every attack, their popularity skyrocketed. The pool of recruits kept growing. Many new recruits were excited to volunteer for suicide attacks, but he took a serious approach to these recruits, saying, "We choose only those who insist. My orders are to convince them not to go, [in order] to test them. If they still insist, they are chosen." Shaqaqi took his radical ideas and turned them into a well-organized, well-funded terrorist group devoutly committed to Israel's destruction. And indeed, PIJ always seemed one step ahead of Israeli authorities. Until, in 1995, after more than a decade of attacks, Israel managed to neutralize the doctor.

Mossad agents were staking out Fathi Shaqaqi, who frequently stayed at the Diplomat Hotel during his visits to Malta. After blending into the hotel lobby scene for days, the agents finally spotted him. They discreetly followed as he leisurely strolled through the streets on a shopping excursion. As Shaqaqi was leaving a store, two agents on a motorcycle made their move. One agent, equipped with a silenced pistol, swiftly and silently delivered two shots to Shaqaqi's head and one to his back, executing the mission with chilling precision. Without their leader, PIJ initially descended into chaos. But Shaqaqi's ideology was strong enough to outlive him, and the terrorist group managed to bounce back, and even challenge Hamas.

What is the difference between the two groups? PIJ is much smaller than Hamas. Where Hamas is a broad, community-based movement, PIJ is more like an elite order. It's organized with a secretive, cell-based structure. For PIJ, violence is the only way. Anything that normalizes Israel, even a little, is unacceptable. Israel must be destroyed. Peace must be rejected. Hamas, on the other hand, has been a little more willing to work within the system.

During the second Intifada, while Hamas agreed to temporarily align with the Palestinian Authority and pause their suicide bombings, the PIJ defiantly vowed to continue their attacks. "We have no other choice," a PIJ official declared at the time, "We are not willing to compromise." A few years later, Hamas decided to participate in PA elections, but PIJ refused. They couldn't accept the PA as a legitimate government because they had already taken too many steps towards normalization with Israel.

When PIJ launched a series of attacks against Israel in 2022, Hamas refused to join. In retrospect, it is now clear that Hamas was trying to lull Israel into a false sense of security and would eventually launch a massive terror attack in 2023. But they were, for a time, trying to distance themselves from PIJ. This only boosted the popularity of PIJ which accused Hamas of collaborating with the enemy.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists hold guns during a memorial rally for their martyrs at the Jenin refugee camp, near the West Bank city of Jenin, September 16, 2023 (Photo: EPA/Alaa Badarneh) EPA/ALAA BADARNEH

To understand the PIJ's widespread popularity, one must study their indoctrination methods. Schools and summer camps taught children to hate Israel and reject peace. A summer camp director described their programming, saying, "We teach the children the truth, how the Jews persecuted the prophets and tortured them. We stress that the Jews killed and slaughtered Arabs and Palestinians every chance they got. As long as Jews remain here, from the river to the sea, they will be our enemy and we will continue to pursue and kill them."

A 2012 kindergarten graduation from a PIJ school had children dressed in PIJ uniforms holding toy rifles. During the ceremony, they put on a play about how Israel supposedly treats Palestinian prisoners, featuring handcuffed kids in cages and reenactments of torture. According to the kindergarten's director, "It's our obligation to educate the children to love the resistance, Palestine and Jerusalem, so they will recognize the importance of Palestine and who its enemy is." One of the kids proudly declared, "I love the resistance and the martyrs in Palestine and I want to blow myself up on Zionists and kill them on a bus in a suicide bombing." Those kids would be around 17 now, ready to take on the enemy, as they did on October 7.

One of the kids proudly declared, "I love the resistance and the martyrs in Palestine and I want to blow myself up on Zionists and kill them on a bus in a suicide bombing."

During the murderous attacks, most of the terrorists were either members of Hamas or PIJ. On October 8, the current leader of the organization Ziyad al-Nakhalah claimed that the group was holding more than 30 hostages. "They will not return to their homes until we release all of our prisoners from the enemy's custody," he declared. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi even called to congratulate him, saying, "You've really made the Islamic community happy with this innovative and victorious operation."

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Major upheaval in Palestinian Authority as Abbas fires nearly all governors

RachelG — Fri, 11 Aug 2023 04:05:30 +0000

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree removing 13 of his 16 regional governors from their posts, the PA's Wafa news agency reported on Thursday.

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In Judea and Samaria, Abbas ordered the forced retirement of the heads of the PA's governorates of Jenin, Nablus, Qalqilya, Tulkarm, Bethlehem, Hebron, Tubas and Jericho (the latter includes a large section of the Jordan Valley).

Video: Hamas holds military summer camp in Gaza/Credit: Reuters

In the Gaza Strip, which has been ruled by the Hamas terrorist organization since 2007, Abbas fired the PA representatives for North Gaza, Gaza City, Khan Younis and Rafah.

Only the governors of Jerusalem, Salfit and Ramallah/al-Bireh remain in their posts. The governor of Deir el-Balah in Gaza, Abdullah Abu Samhadana, died in 2020, and Abbas has yet to appoint a successor.

Wafa cited no reason given for the overhaul. The report claimed Abbas ordered the creation of a committee, consisting of "leading figures," that would advise and present him with candidates to fill the vacant positions.

Abbas's own status within his Fatah faction is shaky due to his age and poor health, and the lack of change in relations between the PA and Israel, creating a very real risk of a loss of further control in other Palestinian-governed cities across Judea and Samaria, counterterrorism expert Professor Boaz Ganor told JNS last month.

Recent polling shows that the 87-year-old Abbas is deeply unpopular among the Palestinian public, who increasingly support opposition armed terrorist groups. In Jenin specifically, at least 45% of residents are believed to be affiliated with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

On July 12, Abbas paid a rare visit to Jenin, a week after the Israel Defense Forces concluded a major counterterrorism operation in the northern Samaria city. The visit marked Abbas's second official trip to Jenin since being elected PA chairman 18 years ago.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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Israel hits back after rocket fired from Gaza amid fragile truce

ErezL — Sun, 14 May 2023 16:32:25 +0000

Palestinian terrorists fired a rocket into southern Israel on Sunday, prompting the Israeli Air Force planes to hit back. The launch on Sunday comes less than 24 hours after a ceasefire was reached between Israel and the Islamic Jihad group in the Gaza Strip. The army said the rocket set off air-raid sirens in southern Israel but landed in an open area. Palestinians said the rocket launch was unintended and blamed it on technical failure.

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A fragile ceasefire between Israeli forces and Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip had appeared to be holding on Sunday after a five-day clash that killed 33 Palestinians and two Israelis. The latest round of Gaza fighting was sparked Tuesday when Israeli jets killed three top commanders from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group in response to earlier rocket launches from Gaza. Those killings set off a barrage of fire and the conflagration threatened to drag the region into another all-out war until an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire took hold late Saturday.

While the calm appeared to bring a sense of relief to millions of Israelis who had been largely confined to bomb shelters in recent days, the agreement did nothing to address the underlying issues that have fueled numerous rounds of fighting between Israel and Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip over the years. Saturday's deal did not address many of the causes of the repeated fighting, including the Gaza border, the large arsenals of weapons possessed by Hamas and PIJ, as well as the linkage to the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Gaza's main cargo crossing with Israel reopened Sunday after warnings that keeping it closed would force Gaza's power plant to shut down. Israel was gradually lifting restrictions on residents in southern Israel, which had borne the brunt of the rocket fire. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the targeted attacks on the terrorists' hideouts would reverberate around the region. "Israel's enemies in Gaza and much farther than Gaza know that even if they try to hide, we are able and prepared to reach them at any time," he told a meeting of his Cabinet. Israel says it does its utmost to avoid harming civilians in its strikes and says terrorists operate from within the territory's densely populated areas to fire rockets indiscriminately at Israeli communities.

Throughout the fighting, Israel's repeated airstrikes targeting PIJ and its command centers and rocket-launching sites showed no signs of stopping the rocket fire, prompting PIJ to declare victory and sending cheering Palestinians out into the streets late Saturday. The Israeli military reported over 1,400 launches throughout the fighting, with some rockets reaching as far as the Tel Aviv and Jerusalem areas. Israeli jets struck more than 400 targets, according to a preliminary military tally, which also showed about a fifth of the rockets were misfired and landed in Gaza, while most of the rest were either intercepted or landed in open areas.

The more powerful Hamas has praised PIJ's strikes but remained on the sidelines during the latest round of fighting, limiting the scope of the conflict. As the de facto government held responsible for the abysmal conditions in the blockaded Gaza Strip, Hamas has recently tried to keep a lid on its conflict with Israel. PIJ, on the other hand, a more ideological and unruly group wedded to violence, has taken the lead in the past few rounds of fighting with Israel.

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Israel emerged victorious from Gaza campaign; next big test this week

RachelG — Sun, 14 May 2023 13:07:24 +0000

The ceasefire, which went into effect last night, was in Israel's clear interest, and it brings a successful operation to an end – admittedly it achieved limited goals and targets, but Israel had the upper hand.

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The Israeli rationale for ending the operation right now is that the objectives of the operation have been fully achieved. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) suffered a severe blow during the first days of the attack. Its entire operational military elite has been eliminated, and their successors are young and inexperienced commanders who will need time to stabilize their positions. The PIJ launched more than 1,000 rockets toward Israel but did not cause much damage. On the other hand, it paid dearly by seeing major damage inflicted on its military facilities – mainly its buildup capacity, ammunition storages, and rocket launch pits. Israel responded without harming too many noncombatants while managing to leave Hamas and other members of the Iranian axis out of the operation.

Hamas also played a part

These gains could have been eroded if the operation had dragged on. The number of high-quality targets would have decreased, and the chance of making a mistake would have increased (as well as the operational success of the PIJ, by firing rockets or an antitank missile that pinpointed a fleeting target). As time passed Hamas would have been pushed into a corner; now it is benefiting from the fact that the status of the PIJ has been eroded – i.e., the internal military challenge it is facing has weakened – but, the continued closing of the border crossings, the prevention of passing fuel into the Gaza Strip and stopping workers coming into Israel, would have exerted pressure on the organization from the local population to find a solution to the closure.

To avoid this situation, Hamas also worked behind the scenes to finalize the ceasefire. The negotiations, conducted through Egyptian mediation from the moment the escalation started out with the elimination of the three senior members of the PIJ – were already close to an agreement several times in recent days, but got stuck again and again due to the parties insisting on certain wording.

A reasonable formula

The one who raised difficulties from the side of the PIJ was the organization's leader, Ziad al-Nakhalah. From his location in Beirut, and with his Iranian sponsor breathing down his neck, Nakhalah demanded that Israel agree to stop the assassinations. Israel refused to commit to this publicly and demanded that the organization commit to stop launching rockets. The Egyptians suggested that the parties commit to this mutual agreement: stop the killings by Israel and rocket fire from the PIJ, with Cairo guaranteeing that the agreement is upheld.

Israel's security establishment considered this a reasonable equation that would allow them to end hostilities. In any case, Israel eliminated those who it had targeted in this operation, and if the PIJ refrains from firing in the future, Israel will have no reason to kill its people.

On the other hand, if they take action again, Israel will be unbound to its part of the agreement. If the parties continued to insist on the wording, the shooting would have continued as well, resulting in additional casualties and even a major unintended event that would make it difficult to stop the fighting.

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The cessation of hostilities at this time will ensure, almost certainly, that Jerusalem Day will pass quietly this week. In recent years, Hamas managed to increase tensions around this day under the false pretense that the Al-Aqsa Mosque was in danger, and it is likely that it would have tried to do so this year as well. However, Operation Shield and Arrow proved once again that Hamas is not interested in fighting, and it is doubtful if it will drag Gaza into another military campaign – bloodier and even more violent – just after the current round had ended.

Therefore, from the moment the agreement was reached and the firing ceased, we will return to normal routine, and the residents of the Gaza area are guaranteed a period of quiet, subject to the length of time Israel will be able to maintain its deterrence against Gaza.

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Israel warns of 'significant' response as rocket fire continues

RachelG — Fri, 12 May 2023 09:32:29 +0000

Operation Shield and Arrow continued Friday as Israeli warplanes struck terror targets in Gaza and terrorists fired more rockets from the strip.

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There were no immediate reports of casualties on either side Friday, as foreign mediators pressed ahead with efforts to reach a ceasefire. On Thursday, a 70-year-old man was killed when a rocket hit a residential building in Rehovot. Thirty-one Palestinians have also been killed in the current round of conflict, including from misfired Palestinian missiles.

The IDF said its warplanes struck Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket launchers. Gaza residents reported explosions in farms near the southern city of Rafah. A burst of rocket fire from the Gaza Strip sent air raid sirens wailing near Israel's southern border Friday, breaking a 12-hour lull that had raised hopes that Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations could soon be able to broker a ceasefire. An air raid also sounded in the Jerusalem area.

A senior Israeli official told Israel Hayom that truce talks were suspended on Friday despite renewed optimism late Thursday and early in the morning after rocket fire stopped for several hours before being renewed toward noon.

"Even prior to the rocket fire on Jerusalem, we had already decided after the [Friday] volley on the Gaza-area communities that we will stop the ceasefire talks and respond forcefully to the PIJ's action." The official said that the Israeli response to the recent rocket fire "will be significant, and if escalation is warranted, we will do so." The official noted that "Jerusalem is just like Tel Aviv and Sderot – we do not differentiate, and that is why decided to stop the talks and continue the strikes because of their attacks on the south."

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IDF cancels Gaza strike due to presence of children

RachelG — Thu, 11 May 2023 07:08:45 +0000

The Israel Defense Forces canceled an airstrike in the Gaza Strip overnight Thursday after several children were detected in the vicinity of the terror target.

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In a video posted on the IDF's official Twitter page, a fighter can be heard saying in Hebrew, "There is a child here outside. 40 meters. Two. Hold fire. Hold fire."

The IDF Spokesperson's Unit routinely publishes footage of airstrikes, only this time, instead of an explosion, the military said it canceled the bombing due to the presence of civilians.

Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

Considered the most moral army in the world, the IDF takes extensive measures to minimize collateral damage and is known for its so-called "roof knocking" technique that alerts inhabitants of an incoming attack ahead of time, giving them the chance to flee.

Meanwhile, four Palestinian civilians, including a 10-year-old girl and two 16-year-old boys, were killed in Gaza due to a missile launched by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad that landed within the strip.

The IDF said that for every four missile launched, one fails to cross into Israeli territory.

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Israel's campaign is already a success, but the fundamentals haven't changed

ErezL — Thu, 11 May 2023 06:00:16 +0000

As Operation Shield and Arrow enters its third day, we can already draw with three takeaways: The first – the PIJ has suffered once again a major blow when its senior leadership was taken out and its operational combat worthiness was crippled after the IDF targeted its operational apparatus and arms-manufacturing capabilities; the second – the organization has not been able to exact a price from Israel, not in the south and not with long-range rocket fire toward Israel's main population centers. the third – Hamas has stayed this one out and by doing so prevented the flare-up from expanding, essentially leaving the PIJ to its own devices and making it deal with the consequences of what it has unleashed. This could allow the operation to draw to a conclusion rather quickly.

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This is the first time Israel manages to do a hat-trick. The first was in November 2019, when a senior member of the PIJ was taken out in a quick flare-up. The second was this past summer, in Operation Breaking Dawn, when Israel took out the senior regional commanders of the PIJ. And the third was this week when Operation Shield and Arrow was launched with the triple assassination of PIJ commanders. In all three cases, the PIJ tried to take revenge against Israel but failed miserably. What's worse (for the organization) – it could not get Hamas to join the fight and make the conflagration that much worse.

Israel should not shy away from a confrontation

The success Israel has garnered should lead to three conclusions. First – while Israel should not be itching for a fight in Gaza, it doesn't need to shy away from it, especially when a small and brazen organization like the PIJ is the provocateur. The organization has tried to create linkage between Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip so that any deadly Israeli raid against terrorists in the West Bank would automatically lead to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. Israel has now put a big flashing sign over that idea, sending the message that if it does not disabuse itself of that idea it will have to pay a price.

Israel has seized the opportunity by taking out various PIJ assets and operatives (from weapon factories to launching pits), while making sure that no Hamas operatives or non-combatants get hurt (except in the first strike at the outset of the operation), with the hope that the Gaza rulers don't join the fighting and have it escalate.

Key actor

The second conclusion is that Israel is almost fully dependent on its air force, which has recently made headlines because of the judicial reform and the opposition by some of its members. Israel has preferred a ground invasion (especially between major operations), making the Israeli aircraft the dominant player in its offensive toolbox and a key player in the defensive posture (alongside ground operations to monitor the border fence and the Israeli civilians' discipline in taking the necessary measures). In terms of sheer numbers, as of Wednesday, there has been a 96% interception rate of all the engaged rockets; over 100 PIJ assets were struck using more than 130 types of ordnances that hit with impressive accuracy.

The third conclusion is that despite the inflammatory rhetoric, Hamas seeks to avoid a confrontation at present. To be more precise: It doesn't want to be dragged into one by the PIJ. Hamas, if and when it decides to enter the fray, will do it for its own reasons and at an opportune moment. This could happen sooner than we think – perhaps in response to the upcoming flag march to celebrate Jerusalem's reunification next week. This depends on whether it pick

s up a sense that the Palestinian street and the Muslim world want to rail against Israel's actions. If Israel acts wisely by defusing this, as it did in 2022, Hamas will prefer to keep things calm in the Gaza Strip and to continue building up its capabilities rather than be consumed by warfare.

Bolstering relations with Jordan

The fourth conclusion is that Egypt remains the most effective and chief mediator when it comes to Gaza. The funds that enter the Gaza Strip may be from Qatar (with PIJ being funded by Iran) but in times of crises, it is Cairo that becomes the go-between. Israel must maintain this channel of communication, which also serves the Palestinians' interests (and the terrorist factions in particular). But at the same time, Israel must move to mend fences with Jordan and the Gulf states as relations frayed a bit recently, and of course, Israel must build ties with Washington, which is necessary for rainy days when Israel will need international legitimacy to carry out more extensive attacks.

The fifth conclusion is that overall fundamentals will have not changed even after the operation is over. Those on the Israeli side who gloated that we have managed to change the equation are advised to think again: This is the third time in three years that Israel carries out this type of operation against the PIJ. This means that any deterrence effect on it is short-lived and needs routine maintenance. Without a clear agenda that would solve the situation in Gaza on a fundamental level (as well as address the overall predicament with the Palestinians), Israel will continue to treat Gaza as a place where it conducts short-term operations to achieve long periods of calm. The government should explain this to the residents of the south before they wake up to the sounds of sirens several weeks from now.

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Israeli killed as Gaza rocket makes direct hit on Rehovot building

ErezL — Wed, 10 May 2023 21:50:39 +0000

Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip continued into the night early Friday as Operation Shield and Arrow entered its 4th day.

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"We are at the height of a campaign, both offensive and defensive," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a videotaped statement issued during a visit to an air base on Thursday. "Whoever comes to harm us – his blood is forfeit."

Overnight Thursday, no rockets were fired on Israel, but it was expected more projectiles would be in the morning or early noon, as was the case the previous day, which led to several direct hits in southern towns, as well as one fatality and over 10 injured. More than 500 rockets have been fired on Israel so far in this round of fighting, although the vast majority have been either successfully intercepted or fallen in open areas that did not threaten Israelis.

On Thursday evening, an Israeli man was killed when a rocket fire struck a four-story building in Rehobot, 12 miles south of Tel Aviv. The unidentified man's body was reportedly found under the rubble. According to reports, the Iron Dome failed to intercept the missile due to a malfunction.

It was the first Israeli fatality since the start of Operation Shield and Arrow against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza. Five other people were wounded in the rocket attack. Police officers were searching the site and sappers were removing parts of the rocket. Authorities reiterated calls for civilians to follow the relevant safety guidelines.

Video: Free usage under Israeli copyright law (Section 27A)

On Wednesday, Palestinian terrorists fired hundreds of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel, while Israel pressed ahead with a series of airstrikes, with the IDF announcing another high-profile assassination and rocket fire resumed on Israeli towns.

A state-run Egyptian TV station announced that Egypt, a frequent mediator between the sides, had brokered a ceasefire. But the truce efforts appeared to falter as fighting intensified late Wednesday and early Thursday, with neither side showing any sign of backing down.

Rocket fire set off air-raid sirens throughout southern and central Israel, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) away. Residents had been bracing for an attack since Israel launched its first airstrikes early Tuesday.

It was the heaviest fighting between the sides in months, pushing the region closer toward a full-blown war. But in signs that both sides were trying to show restraint, Israel avoided attacks on the ruling Hamas terrorist group, targeting only the smaller and more terrorist PIJ faction. Hamas, meanwhile, appeared to remain on the sidelines.

OPERATIONAL UPDATE: We just targeted Ali Ghali, the commander of Islamic Jihad's Rocket Launching Force, as well as two other Islamic Jihad operatives in Gaza.

Ghali was a central figure in IJ, as well as responsible for the recent rocket barrages launched against Israel. pic.twitter.com/GToj67UjTT

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 11, 2023

Early Thursday, the IDF said it targeted the commander of Palestinian Islamic Jihad's rocket squad in an airstrike on a building in southern Gaza. The military said Ali Ghali was hiding in an apartment and that two additional terrorists from the group were killed alongside him in the airstrike at a Qatari-built residential complex in Khan Younis. Ghali instructed and took part in rocket attacks against Israel in recent months. Shortly after the assassinations, sires were heard in Israel's south as PIJ resumed its indiscriminate fire on residents.

Earlier on Thursday, Israel said it killed another PIJ commander who was meant to replace Ghali in southern Gaza. The terror group confirmed the man, Ahmed Abu Daqqa, was one of its commanders.

Israel and Hamas have fought four wars since the Islamic terrorist group took control of Gaza in 2007. Late Wednesday, Egypt's Extra News television channel, which has close ties to Egyptian security agencies, said it had brokered a ceasefire. Egyptian intelligence frequently mediates between Israel and Palestinian terrorists.

Israeli officials confirmed that Egypt was trying to facilitate a ceasefire. Speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss behind-the-scenes diplomacy, they said Israel would evaluate the situation based on actions on the ground, not declarations.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad said it would continue firing rockets. Mohamad al-Hindi, an official with the group, said a sticking point in the talks was that the Palestinians wanted an Israeli commitment to stop targeted killing operations, such as the ones that killed three top Palestinian Islamic Jihad commanders early Tuesday.

As rockets streaked through the sky, Israeli TV stations showed air defense systems intercepting rockets above the skies of Tel Aviv. In the nearby suburb of Ramat Gan, people lay face-down on the ground as they took cover.

The Israeli military said that for the first time, an air-defense system known as David's Sling intercepted a rocket. The system, developed with the US is meant to intercept medium-range threats and is part of a multi-layered air defense that also includes the better-known Iron Dome anti-rocket system. Israeli media said a previous attempt to use the system several years ago had failed.

In a move that could further raise tensions, Israeli police said they would permit a Jewish ultranationalist parade to take place next week. The parade meant to celebrate Israel's capture of east Jerusalem and its Jewish holy sites, marches through the heart of the Old City's Muslim Quarter and often leads to friction with local Palestinians.

Israeli officials said over 400 rockets had been fired as of Wednesday evening. Most, they said, were intercepted or fell in open areas, but Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said about one-quarter had been misfired and fallen inside Gaza. Israeli rescuers said three people were hurt running for shelter, and four homes in southern Israel were damaged by rocket strikes.

The army said that schools would remain closed and restrictions on large gatherings would remain in place in southern Israel until at least Friday. Residents were instructed to stay near bomb shelters.

Eden Avramov, a 26-year-old resident of the southern Israeli town of Sderot, described the 24 hours since Israel launched airstrikes on Gaza as terrifying. "We are all traumatized from this routine – the waiting, the booms, the alarms."

Israeli aircraft hit targets in Gaza for the second straight day, killing at least five Palestinians. The Israeli military said its warplanes targeted dozens of rocket launchers, arms warehouses, and other targets across the enclave. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said four of the dead were terrorists.

A 10-year-old Palestinian girl named Layan Mdoukh was killed in a blast at her home in Gaza City in unclear circumstances on Wednesday.

The initial Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday that set off the exchange of fire killed three senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists. Israel says the airstrikes are a response to a barrage of rocket fire launched last week by Palestinian Islamic Jihad in response to the death of one of its members from a hunger strike while in Israeli custody.

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Israel says it is trying to avoid conflict with Hamas, the more powerful terrorist group that rules Gaza, and limit the fighting to Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

"Our actions are meant to prevent further escalation," said Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military's chief spokesman. "Israel is not interested in war."

In a statement, an umbrella organization of Palestinian factions in Gaza, including Hamas, said the campaign against Israel involved firing hundreds of rockets in retaliation for Israel's killing of the three Palestinian Islamic Jihad commanders as well as several civilians.

"The resistance is ready for all options," the factions said. "If (Israel) persists in its aggression and arrogance, dark days await it." Still, it remained unclear whether Hamas had joined the fray. If the ruling terrorist group enters the fighting, the risk of a full-blown conflict would increase.

JNS.org contributed to this report

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PM warns terrorists Israel 'ready for the possibility of an expanded campaign'

ErezL — Wed, 10 May 2023 13:39:01 +0000

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Wednesday that Israel would not shy away from using force when it comes to protecting its citizens, as Operation Shield and Arrow continued into its second day.

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Netanyahu wrote those comments on Twitter shortly after a barrage of more than 100 rockets was fired on Israel. "Is spoke this afternoon with southern local and regional council heads and told them: 'We are ready for the possibility of an expanded campaign and harsh strikes against Gaza.'" According to a statement issued by his office, the prime minister told them that "Israel has the upper hand and we are ready to deal heavy blows now and in the future."

He further retweeted a statement published by the official account for the government, which read, "More than 170 rockets have been fired at Israel, confining millions of Israeli civilians to bomb shelters. We will protect our citizens from all who attempt to harm them."

Video: Tel Aviv beach goers run for shelter as Gaza militants fire rockets into Israel / Reuters

A day earlier, just hours after Israel launched the operation, he spoke to the public and noted that this was an act of self-defense aimed at holding the perpetrators of a recent salvo on Israel accountable. He was referring to the massive rocket fire launched against Israel in early May by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group in Gaza to protest the death of a hunger-striking Palestinian. He said the operation settled the score with the leaders who led that onslaught.

"Early this morning, the IDF targeted 3 commanders of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a terrorist organization based in Gaza. These terrorists were responsible for firing over 100 rockets at Israeli cities last week and many terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians," Netanyahu said on Tuesday. "It may take time, but Israel will ultimately reach these terrorists. No one should doubt Israel's resolve to defend its citizens. If that is not clear today, it will become even clearer in the future. Israel will do whatever it has to do to protect our state and to protect our people. Israel's policy is clear and our message to the terrorists is also clear: You can run. You can hide. But in the end, Israel will get you."

Video: Israel 'has the upper hand', Netanyahu says as Gaza fire continues / Reuters

Netanyahu met with Opposition Leader Yair Lapid to brief him on the situation, and his office published a joint photo from the meeting.

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